Target terrorism, not uncomfortable views, Govt warned

Jul 21, 2017 by

from The Christian Institute:

“Extremism” is an unhelpful word that should be avoided in everyday political debates, a new poll suggests.

The Evangelical Alliance, which was part of the coalition that commissioned the poll, said “extremism does not work as a litmus test for judging peaceful beliefs”.

The research uncovered that people are divided over which views should be deemed “extreme”.

Terrorism

Dr David Landrum, Director of Advocacy at the Evangelical Alliance, said the results show “the danger of focusing the extremism debate on beliefs we may find uncomfortable or disagree with, rather than on actions that threaten lives”.

The Government has repeatedly responded to acts of terrorism by pledging to tackle what it calls “extremism”, prompting concern from Christian and civil liberty groups.

But ministers have so far struggled to clearly define non-violent extremism, and Landrum said an upcoming commission on the issue was unlikely to solve such problems.

Marriage views

In the survey, 41 per cent of people believed it was “extreme” to think marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

Views on Brexit, diesel cars and animal rights were also considered extreme by many in the ComRes survey of 2,004 people. On Brexit, 36 per cent thought it was extreme to believe the UK should leave the EU, while 30 per cent thought it was extreme to believe the UK should remain.

The polling was commissioned by the Evangelical Alliance in conjunction with ADF International, Affinity, Care, Christian Concern, Christian Medical Fellowship and the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship.

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